Ecclesiastes · Clementine Vulgate
Ecclesiastes 10 Clementine Vulgate
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 [Muscæ morientes perdunt suavitatem unguenti. Pretiosior est sapientia et gloria, parva et ad tempus stultitia.
1 Dead flies cause the oil of the perfumer to produce an evil odor; so does a little folly outweigh wisdom and honor.
2 Cor sapientis in dextera ejus, et cor stulti in sinistra illius.
2 A wise man’s heart is at his right hand, but a fool’s heart at his left.
3 Sed et in via stultus ambulans, cum ipse insipiens sit, omnes stultos æstimat.
3 Yes also when the fool walks by the way, his understanding fails him, and he says to everyone that he is a fool.
4 Si spiritus potestatem habentis ascenderit super te, locum tuum ne demiseris, quia curatio faciet cessare peccata maxima.]
4 If the spirit of the ruler rises up against you, don’t leave your place; for gentleness lays great offenses to rest.
5 [Est malum quod vidi sub sole, quasi per errorem egrediens a facie principis:
5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, the sort of error which proceeds from the ruler.
6 positum stultum in dignitate sublimi, et divites sedere deorsum.
6 Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in a low place.
7 Vidi servos in equis, et principes ambulantes super terram quasi servos.
7 I have seen servants on horses, and princes walking like servants on the earth.
8 Qui fodit foveam incidet in eam, et qui dissipat sepem mordebit eum coluber.
8 He who digs a pit may fall into it; and whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
9 Qui transfert lapides affligetur in eis, et qui scindit ligna vulnerabitur ab eis.
9 Whoever carves out stones may be injured by them. Whoever splits wood may be endangered by it.
10 Si retusum fuerit ferrum, et hoc non ut prius, sed hebetatum fuerit, multo labore exacuetur, et post industriam sequetur sapientia.
10 If the ax is blunt, and one doesn’t sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but skill brings success.
11 Si mordeat serpens in silentio, nihil eo minus habet qui occulte detrahit.
11 If the snake bites before it is charmed, then is there no profit for the charmer’s tongue.
12 Verba oris sapientis gratia, et labia insipientis præcipitabunt eum;
12 The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but a fool is swallowed by his own lips.
13 initium verborum ejus stultitia, et novissimum oris illius error pessimus.
13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness; and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.
14 Stultus verba multiplicat. Ignorat homo quid ante se fuerit; et quid post se futurum sit, quis ei poterit indicare?
14 A fool also multiplies words. Man doesn’t know what will be; and that which will be after him, who can tell him?
15 Labor stultorum affliget eos, qui nesciunt in urbem pergere.]
15 The labor of fools wearies every one of them; for he doesn’t know how to go to the city.
16 [Væ tibi, terra, cujus rex puer est, et cujus principes mane comedunt.
16 Woe to you, land, when your king is a child, and your princes eat in the morning!
17 Beata terra cujus rex nobilis est, et cujus principes vescuntur in tempore suo, ad reficiendum, et non ad luxuriam.
17 Happy are you, land, when your king is the son of nobles, and your princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!
18 In pigritiis humiliabitur contignatio, et in infirmitate manuum perstillabit domus.
18 By slothfulness the roof sinks in; and through idleness of the hands the house leaks.
19 In risum faciunt panem et vinum ut epulentur viventes; et pecuniæ obediunt omnia.
19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes the life glad; and money is the answer for all things.
20 In cogitatione tua regi ne detrahas, et in secreto cubiculi tui ne maledixeris diviti: quia et aves cæli portabunt vocem tuam, et qui habet pennas annuntiabit sententiam.]
20 Don’t curse the king, no, not in your thoughts; and don’t curse the rich in your bedroom, for a bird of the sky may carry your voice, and that which has wings may tell the matter.
Cross references (19)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Matthew 5:13–16; Galatians 2:12–14; Nehemiah 13:26; Exodus 30:25; 2 Chronicles 19:2
- 2 Luke 12:18–20; Ecclesiastes 10:14; Luke 14:28–32; Ecclesiastes 10:10; Proverbs 17:16
- 3 Proverbs 18:2; Proverbs 13:16; Proverbs 18:6; 1 Peter 4:4; Ecclesiastes 5:3
- 4 Proverbs 25:15; Ecclesiastes 8:3; 1 Samuel 25:24–44
- 5 Ecclesiastes 5:13; Ecclesiastes 6:1; Ecclesiastes 9:3; Ecclesiastes 4:7; Ecclesiastes 3:16
- 6 Proverbs 28:12; Proverbs 29:2; Esther 3:1; Psalm 12:8; 1 Kings 12:13–14
- 7 Proverbs 19:10; Esther 6:8; Proverbs 30:22
- 8 Proverbs 26:27; Psalm 7:15–16; Esther 7:10; Amos 5:19; Psalm 9:15–16
- 10 James 1:5; Colossians 4:5; Ecclesiastes 10:15; 1 Corinthians 14:20; Ephesians 5:15–17
- 11 Jeremiah 8:17; Psalm 58:4–5; Psalm 52:2; Psalm 64:3; Proverbs 18:21
- 12 Colossians 4:6; Luke 4:22; Proverbs 15:2; Proverbs 22:11; Ephesians 4:29
- 13 1 Samuel 25:10–11; Proverbs 29:9; 1 Samuel 20:26–33; 1 Samuel 22:7–8; 2 Kings 6:27
- 14 Proverbs 15:2; Ecclesiastes 5:3; James 4:13–14; Ecclesiastes 8:7; Ecclesiastes 3:22
- 15 Isaiah 57:1; Jeremiah 50:4–5; Ecclesiastes 10:3; Psalm 107:7; Psalm 107:4
- 16 Isaiah 3:12; Isaiah 5:11–12; Isaiah 3:4–5; Proverbs 20:1–2; Jeremiah 21:12
- 17 Proverbs 31:4–5; Deuteronomy 14:26; Isaiah 5:11; Ecclesiastes 10:6–7; Jeremiah 30:21
- 18 Proverbs 14:1; Proverbs 24:30–34; Proverbs 20:4; Proverbs 21:25; Hebrews 6:11
- 19 Psalm 104:15; Philippians 4:15–19; Isaiah 24:11; Ecclesiastes 2:1–2; Luke 12:19
- 20 Acts 23:5; Luke 12:2–3; 2 Kings 6:12; Exodus 22:28; Ecclesiastes 7:21–22
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in season, in fortitude, and not in confusion!" He has called the devil a youth, because of the folly and pride, and rashness and unruliness, and other vices which are wont to abound at that age; but Christ is the Son of nobles, …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
Therefore saith the Preacher, If the spirit of him that hath power rise up against thee, quit not thy place.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)